Santa Nella is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Merced County Merced County ( ) is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. It is located west-northwest of Los Banos at an elevation of . As of the 2020 census, Santa Nella had a population of 2,211, up from 1,380 at the 2010 census. The site's status as a stopping place for travelers dates back to the 19th century when it was Rancho de Centinela (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "Sentinel Ranch") along

El Camino Viejo El Camino Viejo a Los Ángeles (), also known as El Camino Viejo and the Old Los Angeles Trail, was the oldest north-south trail in the interior of Spanish colonial Las Californias (1769–1822) and Mexican Alta California (1822–1848), present d ...

; the route through the community has since been replaced by

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

and State Route 33.

Etymology

The name does not refer to a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

, as there is no saint named "Nella". The name is an English language corruption of the Spanish word ''centinela'' ("sentinel"), referring to the earlier

Centinela Adobe The Centinela Adobe, also known as La Casa de la Centinela, is a Spanish Colonial architecture, Spanish Colonial style adobe house in Westchester, Los Angeles, California, built in 1834. It is operated as a house museum by the Historical Societ ...

that was located in the vicinity.

History

Santa Nella began as the site of ''Rancho de Centinela'' (Sentinel Ranch) first established by pioneering stockmen from San Juan Bautista and

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

as a place to raise horses in 1810. The former Centinela Adobe, a one-story adobe built as living quarters for the ranch, was located on El Camino Viejo a Los Ángeles about downstream from the site of the later San Luis Adobe (now under the San Luis Reservoir), at the east end of the

Pacheco Pass Pacheco Pass, elevation , is a low mountain pass located in the Diablo Range in southeastern Santa Clara County, California. It is the main route through the hills separating the Santa Clara Valley and the Central Valley. As with most passes ...

road, situated on the south bank of Arroyo de San Luis Gonzaga. The escape of many of the horses into the valley and subsequent Indian hostilities made the enterprise a failure. The land and adobe of this old Spanish ranch was included in the

Rancho San Luis Gonzaga Rancho San Luis Gonzaga was a Mexican land grant in the Diablo Range, in present-day Santa Clara County and Merced County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Juan Carlos Pacheco and José Maria Mejía. The grant was bo ...

in 1843. From the time of the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

the stage road from Hill's Ferry crossed San Luis Creek at Centinella on the way to connect with the Pacheco Pass road at Rancho San Luis. The old Centinela ranch became a stopping place for stages and travelers on El Camino Viejo. Later a two-story adobe house was constructed near the old adobe by

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

sheepmen in the 1860s and a wooden barn in the 1870s. The two-story adobe was subsequently torn down in the 1890s and replaced by a frame house built by Miller and Lux. This house and barn were for a long time local landmarks. However, by 1966, the wooden house and barn had been removed and a roadside stop built on the site along State Route 33. The name of the place had been corrupted into ''Santa Nella''. The community was entered into the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...

in 1981 as "Santa Nella Village". In 2010, it became a census-designated place under the "Santa Nella" name.

Geography

Santa Nella is in western Merced County, on the western edge of California's Central Valley.

passes through the north side of the community, with access from Exit 407 (

California State Route 33 State Route 33 (SR 33) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs north from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura through the Transverse Ranges and the western side of the San Joaquin Valley to Interstate 5 at a ...

). I-5 leads north to Stockton and southeast to the

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

area. State Route 33 leads north from Santa Nella to Gustine and southeast to Los Banos. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the Santa Nella CDP covers an area of , all of it land. The

San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located at 32053 West McCabe Road, Santa Nella, in Merced County, California. This cemetery has space available to accommodate casketed and cremated remains over of land. ...

, including the California Korean War Veterans Memorial, is located to the west of Santa Nella, on McCabe Road. Nearby attractions also include the

San Luis Reservoir The San Luis Reservoir is an artificial lake on San Luis Creek (California), San Luis Creek in the eastern slopes of the Diablo Range of Merced County, California, approximately west of Los Banos, California, Los Banos on California State Rou ...

and Forebay Golf Course.

Transportation

intersects with State Route 33 in Santa Nella. State Route 152, a major east–west highway connecting nearby Los Banos with the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...

, runs south of town. Gustine is served by public

Dial-A-Ride Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...

from Merced County's

The Bus The Bus may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Bus'' (TV series), a reality television show format started in Netherlands * ''The Bus'' (video game), a bus simulation game by TML-Studios * "The Bus" (''The Amazing World of Gumball''), an e ...

. The service connects Santa Nella with Gustine, Los Banos, Dos Palos, and other communities on the west side of Merced County.

Economy

Santa Nella is a major stopping point along the

corridor for those traveling between

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and either the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, with various fast food outlets, motels, and gas stations. These services include Hotel Mission de Oro's, The Kitchen at the Mission,

Pea Soup Andersen's Pea Soup Andersen's is a restaurant in Santa Nella, California that primarily serves travelers. It was formerly a chain, with previous locations along other major travel highways in California. The original Pea Soup Andersen's opened in Buellton ...

restaurant,

In-N-Out Burger In-N-Out Burgers, doing business as In-N-Out Burger, is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and to a lesser extent the Southwest from Oregon to Texas. It was founded in Baldwin Park, Ca ...

and the Santa Nella Food Center.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Santa Nella had a population of 2,211. The population density was . The racial makeup of Santa Nella was 646 (29.2%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 35 (1.6%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 68 (3.1%) Native American, 113 (5.1%) Asian, 6 (0.3%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 972 (44.0%) from other races, and 371 (16.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,649 persons (74.6%). The census reported that 2,185 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 26 (1.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 607 households, out of which 287 (47.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 316 (52.1%) were married-couple households, 58 (9.6%) were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 115 (18.9%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 118 (19.4%) had a male householder with no partner present. 105 households (17.3%) were one person, and 51 (8.4%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.6. There were 484

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(79.7% of all households). The age distribution was 712 people (32.2%) under the age of 18, 204 people (9.2%) aged 18 to 24, 560 people (25.3%) aged 25 to 44, 562 people (25.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 173 people (7.8%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 31.2years. For every 100 females, there were 108.6 males. There were 627 housing units at an average density of , of which 607 (96.8%) were occupied. Of these, 380 (62.6%) were owner-occupied, and 227 (37.4%) were occupied by renters.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, Santa Nella is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Santa Nella is in .

References

External links

*
Santa Nella Chamber of Commerce

Information on Rancho Centinella
by the historian

Frank Forrest Latta Frank Forrest Latta (1892–1983), was a California historian and ethnographer of the Yokuts people. He also wrote histories of the early European-American settlement of the San Joaquin Valley. Early life Frank Forrest Latta was the son of Presby ...

{{authority control Census-designated places in California Census-designated places in Merced County, California